George Goodman, TV's 'Adam Smith,' dead at 83

NEW YORK (AP) – George Goodman, a journalist, business author and award-winning television host who under the pseudonym “Adam Smith” made economics accessible to millions of people, died Friday at age 83.

Goodman’s son, Mark Goodman, said his father died at his home in Miami after a long battle with the bone marrow disorder myelofibrosis.

Starting in the 1950s, the elder Goodman had a long, diverse and accomplished career, whether as a founder of New York Magazine, as a best-selling business author or as the host of “Adam Smith’s Money World.”

He prided himself on making arcane debates among economists and business leaders understandable, often using an anecdotal or irreverent approach to explain a complicated issue. He has been credited with coining the mocking catchphrase, “Assume a can opener,” as a parody of academic jargon.

“I have always believed that if you dramatize a story, you can make it comprehensible while at the same time maintaining a relatively high level of sophistication,” he once said.

“Adam Smith’s Money World” was a multiple Emmy winner that aired on PBS stations from1984-1996. He was also an executive editor at Esquire, a member of The New York Times editorial board and a commentator for NBC television.

Before his success in the business world, Goodman had written novels and worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter. He helped adapt his own book, “The Wheeler Dealers,” into a movie of the same name starring Lee Remick and James Garner.

Smith’s first business book, “The Money Game,” was among the top sellers of 1968 and is still praised as an invaluable guide for investors. It was also his first work as “Adam Smith.” Founding New York Magazine editor Clay Felker had persuaded him to name himself after the 18th century economist. His other books included “Powers of Mind” and “Paper Money,” published in 1981.

“Where some authors exploit the paranoia over paper money, warning of horrible crashes and galloping inflation to come, Adam Smith strives for sanity,” Leonard Silk wrote of “Paper Money” in a review for The New York Times. “And where some writers urge people to look out for Number One and to be prepared to head for the hills with their gold coins, silver futures, cans of beans and weapons to keep out the neighbors, Adam Smith counsels the revival of a sense of community.”

Goodman grew up outside St. Louis and graduated from Harvard University in 1952. He was later a Rhodes Scholar and a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, later known as the Green Berets.

He is survived by two children and three grandchildren. His wife, actress Sally Brophy, died in 2007.